Research method: We checked official pricing pages, plan guides, help documentation and security pages on July 16, 2026. Prices vary by country, currency, tax, billing cycle and promotions, so the comparison focuses on the underlying plan structure.
Audience: Small companies, local businesses, independent professionals and service providers building or operating a business website or online store.
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains no affiliate links at publication. If links are added later, they will be identified near the link and handled under our Affiliate Disclosure.
Conclusion: narrow the list by business model and site owner
Wix
A candidate for starting on a free site and adding a custom domain, bookings, forms and selling within one platform.
Squarespace
A candidate for testing a design-led site and selling products, services, memberships or content on a paid plan.
WordPress.com
A candidate for content-heavy sites that may later use paid-plan plugins or the Commerce plan.
Webflow
A candidate for structured CMS projects built on the free Starter tier and published through a paid Site plan.
Shopify
A commerce-first candidate for managing products, inventory, orders, payments, shipping and sales channels.
Comparison table
| Platform | Free access | Custom domain | Selling | Officially documented conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Permanent free site available | Paid plan required to connect a domain and remove Wix branding | Payments and commerce require an eligible business plan | Premium plans include a custom domain connection, support and branding removal. Wix provides HTTPS/SSL for all Wix sites. |
| Squarespace | No permanent free plan; free trial | Eligible annual plans include one custom domain free for one year | All paid plans can sell products or services; features vary | Domains correctly pointing to a Squarespace site are automatically protected with free SSL. |
| WordPress.com | Free plan available | Annual paid plans include a domain free for the first year | Payment tools and a Commerce plan are available | Current official documentation says plugins can be installed on all paid plans. Every site includes free HTTPS/SSL. |
| Webflow | Free Starter Site plan | A paid Site plan is required for publishing, hosting and additional features | Separate Webflow Ecommerce plans | Sites live in Workspaces. SSL hosting is provided, and paid Site plans have unlimited backups. |
| Shopify | No permanent free plan; three-day trial and time-limited promotion | Connect an existing domain or buy one | Commerce platform for products, inventory, orders, payments and shipping | Secure hosting, unlimited bandwidth and free TLS/SSL are included. Third-party payment provider fees may apply. |
“Free access” does not mean every production requirement is free. Confirm custom domains, branding, ecommerce, collaboration, CMS limits, backups, apps and payment fees for the selected plan.
Five checks before choosing
Primary objective
Decide whether the priority is company information, lead generation, publishing, memberships or online selling.
Site owner
Identify who will update pages, posts, products, images and forms, and review permissions and editing workflows.
Total cost
Include domains, email, apps, themes, payment fees, implementation and maintenance—not only the subscription.
Migration and data
Check how pages, posts, products, orders, customers, images and form submissions can be exported.
Operational requirements
Review SEO, accessibility, performance, backups, SSL, support and third-party integrations.
Official facts and decision points
Wix
Wix lets users start with a free site. Its official plan guide says Premium plans include custom-domain connection, 24/7 customer support and removal of Wix branding. Selling and payment processing require an eligible business plan.
- Build and test on a free Wix URL
- Paid plan required for a custom domain
- HTTPS/SSL is included for Wix sites
- Confirm the plan for bookings, forms, payments and multilingual sites
Check before subscribing: storage, collaborators, form limits, payments, bookings, multilingual support and paid apps.
Squarespace
Squarespace starts with a trial rather than a permanent free plan. Official pricing information says every paid plan can sell products or services, with different commerce features by plan. Eligible annual subscriptions include one custom domain free for one year.
- Use the trial to evaluate editing and templates
- All paid plans can sell, with plan-specific features
- Eligible annual plans include a first-year domain
- Correctly connected domains receive automatic free SSL
Check before subscribing: transaction fees, memberships, scheduling, email marketing, form integrations and custom-code needs.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosted WordPress service with a free plan. Annual paid plans include a domain free for the first year. Official documentation reviewed in June 2026 states that Personal, Premium, Business and Commerce plans can install plugins.
- Start pages and posts on the free plan
- Paid plans add ad removal, a custom domain and plugins
- The Commerce plan is designed for WooCommerce selling
- Every WordPress.com site includes free HTTPS/SSL
Check before subscribing: Do not confuse WordPress.com with self-hosted WordPress.org. Confirm theme and plugin compatibility and any third-party costs.
Webflow
Webflow provides a free Starter Site plan. Its official pricing documentation separates Workspaces, where sites are staged and collaborators work, from Site plans, which provide publishing, hosting and site-level features.
- Build and test on the free Starter tier
- Paid Site plan required for custom-domain publishing
- SSL hosting is provided
- Paid Site plans support unlimited backups and restoration
Check before subscribing: Distinguish Site and Workspace plans, then review CMS items, bandwidth, forms, collaboration, code export and Ecommerce requirements.
Shopify
Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for storefronts, payments, products, inventory, orders, shipping and sales channels. It does not offer a permanent free plan; the official Japanese pricing page currently advertises a three-day trial and a limited introductory offer.
- Commerce-focused store and operations
- Connect an existing domain or buy one
- Secure hosting, unlimited bandwidth and free TLS/SSL
- Third-party payment provider fees may apply
Check before subscribing: Shopify Payments availability, processing fees, apps, themes, POS, shipping, tax and international selling requirements.
How to narrow the choice
Launch a company or local-business site quickly
Start with Wix and Squarespace, then compare forms, bookings, blogging and the editing workflow for the person responsible for updates.
Publish a growing content library
Compare WordPress.com posts, themes and plugins with Webflow CMS and the blogging features in Wix and Squarespace. Check categories, authors, search, redirects and structured-data controls.
Make online selling the core business
Use Shopify as a commerce benchmark, then compare Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com Commerce and Webflow Ecommerce on payments, inventory, shipping, tax, refunds and apps.
Use a designer or agency for a custom system
Compare Webflow’s design and CMS model with WordPress.com themes and plugins and Wix Studio. Decide who will maintain the site after launch.
Frequently asked questions
Can a free plan use a custom domain?
Not all free plans or trials support publishing on a custom domain. Wix, WordPress.com and Webflow require a paid plan for custom-domain publishing. Squarespace and Shopify provide trials rather than permanent free plans.
Is Shopify always the right choice for an online store?
Shopify is commerce-first, but Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com and Webflow also offer selling features. Compare payment fees, inventory, shipping, regions, product volume and required integrations.
Can a site be moved to another platform later?
Export and migration options differ by platform. Before committing, confirm how pages, posts, products, customers, orders, images and domains can be transferred.
Official sources checked
- Wix — PlansFree site, paid plans, domains and refund terms
- Wix — Choosing a Premium PlanPlan features and use cases
- Wix — SSL and HTTPSAutomatic SSL
- Squarespace — PricingTrial, paid plans and selling
- Squarespace — Free domain offerFirst-year domain on eligible annual plans
- Squarespace — SSL certificatesAutomatic SSL
- WordPress.com — PricingFree and paid plans, domain and Commerce
- WordPress.com — PluginsPlugin installation on paid plans
- WordPress.com — HTTPS and SSLFree HTTPS/SSL
- Webflow — Plans & pricingStarter, Site and Workspace structure
- Webflow — SSL hostingSSL hosting
- Webflow — BackupsBackup and restore
- Shopify — PricingTrial, domains, hosting, SSL and fees
- Shopify — Choosing a planPlan use cases